50 Enjoyable Valentine’s Day Dinner Concepts – A Couple Cooks

Certainly one of our high Valentine’s Day dinner concepts to impress: this creamy Tuscan salmon! It’d end in a number of marriage proposals, which is why we additionally wish to name it “Marry Me Salmon.” The tender fish is bathed in a luscious cream sauce with garlic, solar dried tomatoes, spinach, and capers, making every chew brilliant, salty, and opulent.

Right here’s a basic dish that impresses each time: hen piccata! Tender, golden-brown hen cutlets are bathed in a vibrant lemon-butter sauce with pops of briny capers. This basic Italian American dish has captured hearts and stomachs world wide, and it’s an enormous favourite over right here. Don’t be intimidated by its fancy identify; it is surprisingly easy to make at house! 

Do this romantic creamy pasta recipe, starring chewy al dente pasta and an irresistible Parmesan garlic cream sauce! The way in which the creamy sauce and garlic intensify the leafy greens makes it one among our high vegetarian pasta recipes up to now. Cozy as much as a bowl and it’s positively life-giving. You’ll by no means love spinach extra!

Shrimp, butter, garlic, lemon, and white wine: what could possibly be higher? Sure, it’s the Italian American shrimp scampi, a basic that’s been stealing hearts and minds for many years. This model is fairly stellar: juicy, garlicky shrimp swimming in a wealthy, tangy butter sauce. Sop it up with crusty bread, or pour it over pasta: both method, it’s divine.

Right here’s a recipe that couldn’t be extra delectable. Strive these spinach artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms! Sure, that’s proper. It combines the deliciousness of spinach artichoke dip with the meaty, savory goodness of a baked portobello mushroom. High it off with crunchy Italian breadcrumbs, and also you’ll amaze everybody on the desk! It’s vegetarian however will please each kind of eater: we promise.

This cozy, flavor-packed recipe satisfies each time: Penne Pomodoro! The basic pairing of pomodoro sauce and short-cut pasta exemplifies the simplicity of Italian delicacies: juicy tomatoes, garlic, greens and herbs simmered till they meld right into a pure, wealthy sauce.

This wonderful crab cake recipe makes patties which can be golden and seasoned, crispy on the skin and tender on the within. Previous Bay, Dijon mustard and tarragon intensify the juicy lump crabmeat completely, and served with creamy tartar sauce, they’re a bit little bit of heaven in every chew! 

An ideal vegan dinner concept? Strive Vegan Crab Truffles (that are simply pretty much as good, in our opinion!).

Subsequent up in our listing of Valentine’s Day dinner concepts: Cacio e Pepe: cheese and pepper pasta! Pasta is mega romantic, proper? This Italian cheese and pepper spaghetti couldn’t be easier; the recipe is from our good friend Ashley Rodriguez’s e-book Date Evening In. Alex and I ate a killer cacio e pepe final time we have been in Rome, and we had among the best one’s of our life in NYC. It’s a very easy recipe that’s elegant in its simplicity.

Additionally strive: Straightforward Pasta Puttanesca

If we may eat only one dinner for the remainder of our lives, this may be it: a skillet of creamy Tuscan hen! In case you’ve by no means had Tuscan hen, allow us to be the primary to let you know: this meal delivers. What’s it that makes it so outrageously good? Perhaps it’s the dreamy sauce of solar dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and Parmesan. Or perhaps it’s the savory taste explosion from the superbly seasoned and pan seared hen breast. 

Subsequent up in our listing of Valentine’s Day dinner concepts: Pistachio Crusted Salmon! This methodology for cooking fish looks as if one thing you’d get at a restaurant, however it’s so easy to make. The aroma wafting from the oven may have you salivating earlier than the meals even reaches your plate! Every chew of tender fish and the crunchy, Parmesan pistachio topping makes you instantly need to take one other. 

Additionally strive: Fast Broiled Salmon or Lemon Dill Salmon

This is a creamy pasta good for Valentine’s Day dinner: Creamy Solar Dried Tomato Pasta! There’s main wow-factor to this pasta, which comes collectively in simply half-hour. Earthy, fruity sundried tomatoes lend a meaty high quality to this simple vegetarian dish, which is bathed in a Parmesan cream sauce.

If there’s one recipe that’s a positive hit in our home, it’s creamy hen skillets. And this one is an absolute household favourite: do that creamy lemon garlic hen! The hen is coated in spices and pan fried till tender and juicy, then topped with a fast pan sauce made with lemon, garlic and a bit cream.

Certainly one of our extra elegant Valentine’s Day dinner concepts is that this Parmesan black truffle risotto! A seemingly gourmand dish, this Parmesan truffle risotto recipe is fairly easy to place collectively, and the black truffle taste sends it out of this world. There’s a splash of white wine within the risotto, and you’ll drink the remainder of the bottle as you cook dinner!

Additionally strive: Mushroom Risotto or Butternut Squash Risotto

Scallops have a phenomenal, gentle candy taste that’s simple to like: and there’s nothing higher than that good seared crispy outdoors. Strive them bathed on this wonderful Lemon Herb Sauce. It takes a bit know find out how to get that golden brown crust with out beneath cooking or overcooking them. However as soon as you recognize a number of secrets and techniques…it’s very simple and takes solely 5 minutes to cook dinner!

Additionally strive: Scallop Pasta with Lemon & Herbs

In search of a pasta recipe to impress for Valentine’s Day dinner? Strive the signature Italian dish Pasta alla Norma! This spectacular recipe hails from Sicily and like all basic Italian dish, it’s all about elegant simplicity. Sauteed eggplant tastes savory and meaty in opposition to a tangy tomato sauce, al dente pasta and salty ricotta salata cheese. The mix of flavors and textures is a real masterpiece!

Name us loopy, however isn’t a sublime pot pie is the coziest, most romantic sounding of Valentine’s Day dinner concepts? This pot pie has change into one among our high fan favourite recipes, and for good purpose. The flaky crust is scented with sage, and the within is pure creamy, savory goodness with candy potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and white beans. In case you’re searching for romantic dinner, that is it.

Additionally strive: Finest Vegan Pot Pie

This creamy vodka sauce is simmered with garlic and basil, served over rigatoni with plenty of Parmesan. The key? Simmer the sauce for 1 hour! This vodka sauce pasta is so significantly stuffed with taste, it’s price each second of that simmer. And what says “I really like you” greater than a 1 hour simmered pasta?

Serve with: Favourite Chopped Salad or Excellent Italian Salad

It’s bought bubbly cheese, garlicky tomato sauce, and savory, meaty breaded eggplant: it’s Eggplant Parmesan! This Italian basic dish is hearty, filling, and pleases nearly everybody. Most eating places use fried eggplant, however for a home made model it’s a lot easier to bake. This finest baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe is quicker and simpler to make at house than most recipes and stuffed with unbelievable taste. 

Chilean sea bass is among the most costly fish dishes on a restaurant menu, and one chew tells you why! The tender fillet has a succulent, buttery texture that tastes positively glamorous. In case you’re fortunate sufficient to attain your self a fillet or two, right here’s the recipe for them. Flippantly season and pan fry the fillets till the outside is golden and crisp, then season with garlic, butter, lemon, and herbs. Pair it with a number of sides and it’s a restaurant-quality Valentine’s Day dinner recipe with little effort.

There’s simply one thing about silky caramelized onions topped golden, crusty cheese that takes your breath away each time. That is basic French cooking at its best…it is a bit of a challenge, however price each minute of it for a sublime Valentine’s Day dinner. This recipe is stuffed with wealthy, nuanced taste and all the comfortable, date evening in vibes.

Desire a Valentine’s Day dinner to impress…with a bit kick? Strive Shrimp Fra Diavolo! This Italian-style dish stars tender shrimp that swim in a garlicky, spicy tomato sauce. “Fra diavolo” interprets to “brother satan” in Italian, alluding to the extraordinary warmth of this dish. However make it home made and you’ll customise the spiciness to your style! 

We love utilizing Valentine’s Day as an excuse to make a flowery paella! This beautiful one pan dinner is made for celebrations! This conventional Spanish rice dish has hundreds of variations. however it’s all the time rice with an explosion of colourful toppings. This one stars saffron-scented rice, blended colourful greens and shrimp, and it’s stuffed with conventional taste. Pair with crimson sangria or apple sangria.

You’ll need to bookmark this recipe for making after Valentine’s Day too…this Creamy Shrimp Pasta! It’s extremely basic: juicy, savory shrimp and al dente pasta swimming in a creamy sauce. As a result of we love choices, we’ve bought two sauce concepts for you: a white wine sauce, bursting with tangy taste. Or strive our simple cream sauce, a creamy Parmesan sauce that’s truly made with no cream in any respect. Combine the parts collectively and wow! 

Ever tried making meatballs…with eggplant? We’d been listening to for years that eggplant makes nice vegetarian meatballs, we simply didn’t actually consider it…till now. Do this wonderful Eggplant Meatballs recipe! Garlic, herbs, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese make one insanely juicy and savory meatball.

What’s extra Valentine’s Day applicable than scorching pink hummus? That is the right appetizer to a comfy dinner. Including a roasted beet to hummus makes it beautiful to have a look at—and it’s tasty too. You don’t have to chop your veggies to be coronary heart formed after all…however why not?

Cherries are good for Valentine’s Day dinner, and here is an amazing appetizer concept: cherry and goat cheese crostini! Saute tart cherries with a little bit of sage and balsamic vinegar, then spoon them over a goat cheese crostini. They seem to be a easy and scrumptious starter to pair with the primary dishes above!

This is an ideal salad for Valentine’s Day dinner: shaved Brussels sprout salad!  This one is a examine in texture contrasts: the feathery shaved Brussels, the pop of the Pomegranate seeds, and the brilliant crunch of the apple. It’s vibrant and colourful, lined in a flippantly candy French dressing.

This is a simple salad to make any Valentine’s Day dinner recipe right into a meal. It’s fairly presumably the simplest salad you’ll make. You don’t even should make a salad dressing! In 5 to 10 minutes, you’ve bought a sublime salad that goes with actually every little thing.

One other nice Valentine’s Day dinner aspect dish: pomegranate salad! Crunchy pomegranate seeds make a phenomenal confetti excessive of leafy greens. Add tart inexperienced apple slices, toasted pecans, and goat cheese or feta crumbles, and it’s a real symphony of taste! Decide from a number of totally different dressing selections: our favorites are apple cider vinegar dressing or pomegranate French dressing. 

Beets are good for Valentine’s Day dinner with their brilliant pink shade. Strive them on this Beet Salad recipe! Make it with roasted beets and even pre-cooked from the shop: and man is it good. It has all the correct parts: child greens, creamy goat cheese and a tangy balsamic beet dressing. 

Right here’s a phenomenal aspect dish for Valentine’s Day dinner: this beautiful apple salad! If we may eat one salad for the remainder of time, this one is it. Crisp tart apple slices pair with pops of pomegranate seeds, creamy goat cheese, and crunchy, cinnamon spiced pecans. Toss them throughout contemporary greens with a zingy maple and apple cider vinegar dressing, and it’s really salad perfection.

Right here’s a brilliant, stunning salad recipe that works in virtually any season: this refreshing Grapefruit Salad! It pairs the juicy citrus fruit with nutty toasted almonds, salty feta cheese and a zingy poppy seed dressing. Give it a style and the fragile, zingy, nut and creamy textures and flavors complement one another completely!

This is a sublime salad for Valentine’s Day dinner: do that Endive Salad: equal components refreshing, tangy, bitter, crunchy, and tangy! Bitter endive pairs completely with juicy orange and a candy tart crimson wine French dressing. High it off with savory Parmesan shavings and crunchy almonds, and the contrasts are divine. Every chew is crunchy, candy, savory and citrusy.

In relation to fast and stylish aspect dishes, this one may be tops: sauteed broccolini! The elegantly lengthy stems of this inexperienced veggie make it look fancy, however right here’s a secret. You’ll be able to cook dinner it up in simply 5 minutes in a scorching skillet. Add a little bit of garlic and lemon, and also you gained’t be capable of cease consuming these irresistibly massive spears.

Additionally strive: Easy Roasted Broccolini

Right here’s a easy approach to costume up contemporary inexperienced beans as a gourmand aspect: Inexperienced Beans Almondine! Make it at house, and this dish is good! The beans are brilliant inexperienced and completely tender, sautéed in butter with garlic and toasted almonds and completed with a bit lemon zest. After one chew, you will be singing its praises.

These Brussels sprouts are a improbable Valentine’s Day aspect dish…and so they actually are subsequent stage! They’re impossibly crispy, baked till they’re caramelized and the skin layers flake off into darkened crunchy chips. Then they’re draped in a tangy maple balsamic glaze that heightens the flavors to their peak. One chew of those, and everybody across the desk will probably be asking how you probably did it.

After all, we have to have some romantic Valentine’s Day cocktails to go along with the dinner concepts, proper? Do this candy tart crimson cocktail: the Raspberry Martini! This drink is beautiful and stuffed with brilliant berry taste: from first sip, you’ll be offered! The candy tart, flippantly floral taste of raspberry is fantastically pure, because of home made raspberry syrup. 

Additionally strive: Pomegranate Martini, French Martini or different Purple Cocktails

This is a fantastically brilliant good pink Valentine’s Day drink: sure, it’s a Cosmo! A Cosmopolitan cocktail, to be actual. This basic cocktail is prepared to boost your subsequent gathering, be it a cocktail party or drinks on the patio with pals. It was at its top within the 1990’s (howdy, Intercourse and the Metropolis), however the Cosmo is a legit bitter cocktail that’s price ingesting.

Additionally strive: 10 Excellent Pink Cocktails

The chocolate martini is wealthy and creamy, mainly a dessert in a glass! It’s bought Irish cream and creme de cacao for max taste, just like the liquid model of your favourite chocolate bar. Combine this up for particular events like Valentine’s Day or a romantic dinner…or simply anytime you want a candy deal with in cocktail kind.

Additionally strive: Traditional Mudslide

Right here’s one of the crucial refined and refreshing cocktails on the market…and it is good for Valentine’s Day dinner. Strive the French 75! It’s bought a mysterious identify, however it’s made with a number of easy substances. It’s tangy, bubbly, and a bit botanical, and it makes each dinner extra festive!

One other enjoyable Valentine’s Day dinner drink: the Pomegranate Gin Fizz! The Gin Fizz is one among our favourite basic cocktails: candy tart and refreshing, with a festive egg white foam. Take it excessive with this pomegranate spin: it elevates the candy tart taste and offers the drink a superb jewel-toned shade! 

In search of a decadent Valentine’s Day dinner deal with? Do this chocolate mousse recipe: wealthy, clean, and surprisingly simple to whip up at house! This is find out how to make a killer clean, creamy, wealthy chocolate mousse.

Right here’s an iconic Valentine’s Day dessert that’s the pure definition of decadence: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake! It will get its identify from its liquid “lava” middle, which flows like a volcano once you dig into it with a fork. Are you a chocolate lover licks the batter off spatulas when baking? (Responsible.) Then you definately’ll be head over heels for this one. Seems, it’s not as tough as you assume!

One of the best dessert for in our Valentine’s Day dinner concepts: mug cake! This genius methodology for going from 0 to cake in only a few minutes is completely price a strive. This chocolate mug cake recipe comes out insanely fudgy and 100% scrumptious! It’s bought a secret ingredient that makes a delightfully wealthy taste. The toughest half? Ready for it to chill till you possibly can dig in.

How about pulling some heat chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven for Valentine’s Day dinner? Outrageously good is the one approach to describe these cookies! They’re chewy with crispy edges, candy with simply the correct nutty intrigue within the taste, and studded with darkish chocolate chips and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. (They could be vegan, however they’re our favourite cookies and we promise you possibly can’t inform the distinction!)

What’s higher than ending a Valentine’s Day dinner with flourless chocolate cake? Wealthy and fudgy, dense and darkish chocolaty, it’s a chocolate lover’s dream. High it with this simple raspberry compote for a candy tart pairing that cuts the sweetness of the cake completely.

Everybody loves an excellent chocolate cookie. However right here’s one thing we expect is even higher: these smooth, gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! They’ve bought an irresistibly chewy texture, that includes an opulent dough with a great deal of darkish chocolate chips. A little bit of oatmeal provides it a nostalgic heartiness, and the sides get completely golden.

Cherries seem to be Valentine’s Day meals to us, most likely due to the colour. So do that cherry crisp with candy tart, juicy crimson fruit lined in cinnamon-spiced butter crumbles. We additionally like so as to add a touch of floor cardamom for some intrigue!

Final up: one among our very favourite methods to finish a Valentine’s Day dinner bananas foster! In case you like enjoying with fireplace, this one’s for you. Our recipe is straightforward with directions on find out how to flambé and get that dramatic flame! It tastes really unbelievable. Seize two spoons to your skillet and dig in!